Joe Wright ('The Soloist')

Acclaimed English director Joe Wright makes the leap Stateside for his new movie The Soloist, a fascinating study of the real-life friendship between journalist Steve Lopez and schizophrenic, homeless violinist Nathaniel Ayers. It looks set to match Wright's previous work Atonement with its awards tally, boasting moving performances from Robert Downey Jr. and Jamie Foxx in the lead roles along with a stunning visual depiction of life on the streets of LA. We caught up with Joe Wright recently to find out more...

What was it about the script for The Soloist that attracted you to the project and to make your first movie in America?"Well, I'm a big music fan and the kind of juxtaposition of sublime Beethoven with downtown Los Angeles and mental illness I found quite an interesting contrast and idea."

How did the vast homeless community in Los Angeles react when the film crew and A-list movie stars turned up on their turf?"Well, they were in the film. We employed 500 members of the Skid Row community to work as actors, extras, consultants and crew. So it was their film. They were making it and were very happy about it. I asked them to show me how it worked and how they lived their lives and I just stuck a camera there basically."

The Soloist merges this authenticity with expression. In particular, there's one extended aerial shot of the homeless community lying in formation at night, almost resembling some kind of art installation. How tough was that to shoot?"Technically it was quite tricky, because it was a bastard of a crane that we were using for that shot. But in terms of working with the members of the community and people who hadn't been on a film set before, it was great. They were very proud of being in the film and helping us realize the story."

Given the memorable extended takes in your previous films, would you say such sequences are kind of like a calling card for you as a director?"I don't know really. Film to me is largely about rhythm. Film works with time and so the extended or long takes are a tool to use within what's available."

What input did the real Steve and Nathaniel having into the process?"They were around a lot. Steve was a constant consultant for me and the writer Susannah Grant. Nathaniel was around a lot too and hung out. We all just spent time together and it felt like a big family basically."

Was it ever tricky for you as the director having the real people on set, in case they gave directions to Robert Downey Jr and Jamie Foxx about their performances that you might not necessarily agree with?"No, we all kind of agreed really. Steve and Nathaniel didn't really get involved in how the film was made. They just expressed to us their life experience and we tried to honor that with respect."

Was there much bonding between the real people and the actors playing them?"Yeah, very much so. It was a lot of fun. It was quite odd to see Nathaniel and Jamie dressed up in the same costume. But Nathaniel said that he thought Jamie was a very good Nathaniel."

The visual representation of Nathaniel's perception includes plenty of fiery imagery and a kaleidoscopic color sequence when he watches the orchestra perform. What led you to incorporate these into the movie?"I don't know, they came out of my fetid imagination really. In our brains we have a thing called the sensorimotor gating system and so our senses are bombarding our brains with information 24 hours a day - from vibrations to sounds to sights to smells. Those are all fed into our subconscious minds and then the sensorimotor gating system basically filters out what's important and leaves behind what isn't important and takes it through to the conscious mind. With a schizophrenic, the gates of that motorgating system are left wide open and so everything is bombarding the conscious mind constantly. So I was trying to represent that if I could."

How did Nathaniel and Steve find the finished film?"Well, Steve wept - happily I hasten to add. Nathaniel has an issue watching two-dimensional images. He finds them quite difficult to 'read', if you like. So he came and listened to the film and kept his eyes shut throughout. But he was very pleased with what he heard."

Finally, what’s the latest casting news on your next project Indian Summer?"Well, we hope Cate Blanchett is going to play Edwina Mountbatten, but that's the only casting we have in place so far. [Shooting] hopefully starts in February."